


An Unexpected Twist

by SongsofPsyche



Category: The Hobbit (2012), The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Gen, Ghosts, Lost Child, Recover, Slavery, Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-03-04
Updated: 2013-03-04
Packaged: 2017-12-04 06:41:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/707712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SongsofPsyche/pseuds/SongsofPsyche
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gandalf did not choose Bilbo for this adventure, he picked Annie, a young hobbit who was in desperate need of saving.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is also posted on FF.net under PrincessMeowKitty

_ Regrets collect like old friends _

_ Here to relive your darkest moments _

_ I can see no way, I can see no way _

_And all of the ghouls come out to play_  
  
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When Gandalf came to the door at Bag End and knocked, he was surprised. Not the pleasant type of surprised, but one of the more ugly types. The hobbit he saw wasn't the one he expected. For one thing, she was not Bilbo, and other, her eyes were dark and hollow and she seemed to shrink into the shadows as he came closer.

"Good morning." she greeted him.

"Who are you?" he asked

"Annie, who are you?"

"Gandalf-A very old friend of Bilbo's. Can you let him know I'm here?"

She shook her head, "Im sorry, but Mr. Bilbo has been gone for some time now. He left me with Bag End." she explained.

"Why?"

"As a favor, for an old friend." she told him. Gandalf nodded, and began to rethink his original request. He had wanted a hobbit, and his first preference was Bilbo but since he was unavailable, he might as well go with this one.

"Are you going to let me in?"

Another nod, and she beckoned for him to come moment he entered her house he felt it, a red presence.

"It been here long?"

"Just a few weeks now, since I got back."

"You were gone? Where did you go?"

"I escaped, and Mr. Bilbo was kind enough to give me lodgings until I found my own."

Gandalf then truly looked at her. Even as she smiled at him, she looked sad. Not the typical sad but a deep down heart wrenching sad.

"What on earth happened to you?" he asked her.

After a long pause, she answered in a whisper, "Nothing"

"I have come looking for someone to share in an adventure. It seems like you could use one" he then stated, looking the young hobbit in the eye. She stared at him for a while, and then shook her head.

"No."

"What do you mean, no?"

"No, I'm sorry but I am here now, and I plan to stay here for a long while." she told him, shaking her head.

"I think an adventure is just what you need, to cure what ails you." he told her, motioning towards the red presence. She sighed, "Nothing will make it leave." she whispered.

"No." Gandalf told her, "Only you can do that."

He turned to leave, it was settled and he had made up his mind. She was the one, the hobbit that will come with the company. He felt that she needed it more than Bilbo did.

"Your leaving?" she asked, surprised by his sudden interest in the door.

"Yes, but I can assure you that I will see you again quite soon. May I stop by tomorrow for afternoon tea?" he asked, and she nodded, "of course" she replied, out of politeness. For he seemed of somewhat importance, and thought it would be very unwise to deny him. Plus, what harm came out of tea anyway? As she closed the door, she realized that the wizard left yet. Curiously, she looked through the window and saw he was carving something on the door.

Annie meant to go investigate, she really did but instead she found herself caught up in a fight with the haunt in her house. It occupied her for the rest of the evening, and onto the next day. She was just settling down with a cup of coffee and a book when she heard the bell ring. It startled her, and she almost didn't answer it, thinking it was the presence messing with her again. But she did, and what she found on the other side was even more surprising. It was a Dwarf.

"Dwalin, at your service." he said, and then bowed a deep bow. She curtsied, "Annie at yours." she told him politely, remembering her manners. He apparently had none, for he pushed by her, throwing his coat and axe on the floor. "Have they arrived yet?" he asked.

"What? Uh, no?" Annie told him, "I don't think you-"

"Good! Now wheres the food. He said there'd be food!" he asked, walking by her into the kitchen.

"What no? Who said?" she asked, following him into the kitchen, where she watched in horror as he sat himself down at the table and took a bite out of her biscuit. "Lovely, do you have any ale?" he asked.

"I don't think you have the right house, um, sir." she told him, "I really think you should-"

But she was cut off by the doorbell ringing again! Flustered, she went to answer it and found another dwarf.

"Balin, at your service!" he told her cheerfully, as he bowed, "Annie at yours." she told him, and curtsied. "Am I late?" he answered as he came inside, and seeing Dwalin's coat he sighed in relief , "Thank goodness, I thought Id be the last one!" he exclaimed, and then he saw Dwalin. They laughed and pointed at each other.

"So you know each other?" Annie asked feebly, she was starting to feel very flustered.

"What is happening?" she asked, but they ignored her, more entranced in the food in her pantry.

This happened for the arrival of six more dwarves: Fili, Kili,Bifur, Bofur, Oin and Gloin. Then they started moving the tables around, "oh no, Mr. Bilbo is going to hate this when he returns." she thought to herself as she tried her best to save the best charis from the dawrves clutches. Then the doorbell rang again, feeling slightly frantic, Annie rushed to open it. Out fell four more dwarves: Bombur, Dori, Nori and Oin, and behind the pile, Gandalf.

"Good evening, Annie." he said with a smile. Annie forced a smile back at him, "Evening" she replied, rather coldly. She thought it was slightly rude of the wizard to invite all these strangers to a place that she didn't even own. As the dwarves picked themselves up and greeted each other, she looked sternly at the wizard.

"May I have a word with you, Gandalf?" she asked, then motioned him towards the now very empty pantry.

"Of course." He said, with a sly smilie, and followed the small hobbit. When they were inside, away from the chaos of the living room, she turned to him and said, rather angrily, "Gandalf, I have a tree on my back, and a haunt in my house. I do not need 12 dwarves too. I don't think they fit. Please, no more." she asked with him, her large eyes pleading. That is when Gandalf truly looked at her. He knew something had been wrong the moment he had set eyes on her, but he didn't know what it was until now.

"What do you mean, a tree?"

"That's what she told me what it looked like. I haven't had the heart to look. For all I know it's sprouted flowers and leaves by now."

She turned in the parlor to reach for more bread, and as she did, the sleeve of her sweater fell down over her shoulder and thats when he saw the scars.

"What did they do to you?"

She didn't answer but her look said it all. She quickly hid the branches coming up from her back and left the room as the doorbell rang for the last time that night.

"Excuse me" she whispered, and rushed off to open the door. Behind it she saw a dwarf of most importance, he was Thorin Oakenshield but Annie didnt know that. She scowled slightly at the sight of yet another dwarf. She curtsied politely as he walked past her complaining, "Gandalf, you said this place was easy to find, I lost my way twice. If it hadn't been for that mark I would have missed it completely"

As Thorin entered the hobbit hole he felt it, the red presence but he didn't say anything. Nobody likes to bring up the thought of a ghost. He wondered vaguely if the others felt it too but they weren't as attuned to this sort of thing as he was. He was no stranger to it. When Thorin saw the hobbit Gandalf had chosen, he was taken aback. This was not what he pictured his burglar to be. She was small, and fragile and something in her eyes made him shiver. Thats when he saw it behind her, a pool of red floating in the candlelight. He shook it off as a play of the light and greeted her, handing his over his coat and boots.

"And this is Thorin, the leader of our group." Gandalf introduced him, Annie nodded and curtsied "At your service." she mumbled softly, still annoyed that  _another_ dwarf had found his way into her home. The others came and greeted him, excited to get the on with the quest but Thorin lingered in the hallway, eyes never leaving the spot where he saw the pool of red. He turned to Annie, who was standing there in shock, probably from having so many dwarves in her living room.

"You got company?" he whispered, motioning towards the pool.

She shrugged, "off and on" she told him.

And thats when it started, the rumbling. Pots shook off their hangers, the light coming from the window turned red and a long dark unearthly cry came from below. Thorin started, but before he could do anything, it had stopped.

"Good god, what kind of evil do you have here?" Thorin asked shakily, for it seemed that only he had heard it, none of the others had made a notion that they had heard it too.

"It's not evil, just sad. Come on, just ignore it." She told him, and he then stepped through the pool and into the kitchen.

As Thorin stepped through, he felt it, the sadness. And he wondered what on earth could of caused this amount of hurt. He looked at the little hobbit, beneath the mask she was trying so hard to keep up, she looked empty, and very sad. Thorin started to wonder about Gandalf's choice, why on earth did he pick this particular hobbit? She seemed so fragile. He sighed, and than began to address his company.

Annie stood in the shadows and listened to his tale of Erebor, and of Dragons and violence. It made her shudder. What had Gandalf gotten her into?

 

As the Dwarves sat in her kitchen discussing lost treasure, dragons and adventure, Annie tried very hard not to faint. What on earth was happening? Then Gandalf pulled out a map, and the voices quieted. She couldnt stand to hear anymore of it, no more adventures for her! She touched the locket hanging around her neck, it was the one thing that had survived it all, and the one reminder of what happened. She leaned against the wall, and felt herself fall into the deeply familiar senses of regret and guilt that had come with the necklace. The memories flooded through her head in flashes; faces, places and blood dripping down on the floor. It hurt too much to go back any further. Just as she was about to leave to get some fresh air, the presence flared up next to her, wild and red and cunning.

"Please." she whispered to it, "What can I do to make you understand? Or to show how much I love you?" It didnt answer, just swirled tauntingly around her, rattling her teeth and sending shivers up her spine.

"Miss Annie?" her thoughts were interupted by Balin, who has come into the hallway in search for her.

"Yes?"

"We have decided, as a company that you fit the job description." he told her, smiling kindly, like this was a good thing.

"What?" She asked, and then felt embarassed, for she hadnt been paying attention to their conversations at all.

He handed her a very large piece of parchment. "You are to be our burglar." he said, and behind him the other twelve dwarves nodded in approval.

"Well, I -ummm." she stumbled, but reached out to take the parchment.

"Just sign at the bottom, and we will be on our way." he told her cheerfully, and then returned back to the group.

Annie opened it up and read, all the way down to the bottom. It did not sound like a fun journey at all.

"Incinerated?" She whispered, Kili heard her and turned around in his seat.

"Oh yeah its not too bad, just searing pain and then  _poof_ your a pile of dust!" he told her, and they all laughed as she paled a little. This was all too much, too soon. There were too many dwarves in her home, too many dangers on this piece of parchment, and the red wasn't helping much as she felt it circle around her head. Before she fainted, she vaguely wondered if the others could see it, but before she came to that conclusion she lost consciousness all together.

The dwarves took this fainting spell as a very positive "no" and were slightly disappointed, but Gandalf insisted that she was the right burglar for them.

"Trust me, she will not disappoint you." he told Thorin, who just nodded. "If she comes, I will not be responsible for her." he told the wizard. He was not impressed by this little hobbit, despite how puzzling she was. "Just give her some time, she'll come around." the wizard reassured him.

Annie woke to singing. It was a sad mournful tune, almost as sad as she felt. She then realized that someone had picked her up off the floor and placed her on one of Biblo's many couches. The singing continued, and curiosity came over her, so she stood up and tiptoed silently towards the kitchen and heard:

_The mountain smoked beneath the moon;_

_The dwarves, they heard the tramp of doom._

_They fled their hall to dying fall_

_Beneath his feet, beneath the moon._

_Far over the misty mountains grim_

_To dungeons deep and caverns dim_

_We must away, ere break of day_

_To win our harps and gold from him!_

She stayed quietly in the shadows, not wanting to intrude on such a deep moment for the company. They must of thought she had gone to bed, because no one came to check on her for the rest of the night, even though they stayed well into the night.

Annie lay thinking in her bed, wondering if she should jump at this chance, her eyes laid on the red pool, it seemed to follow her whereever she went. "Maybe if I go with them, it will stay behind?" she thought desperately. It was worth a try, anyway. Her last thought of the night was "I should atleast go tell Gandalf that I'm thinking about coming…" but then she fell asleep.

The next morning Annie woke with a start. "Did that really happen?" she thought, her mind muddled with the dream she had been having about very large spiders, and the events of last night. "Did 13 dwarves really eat everything in my pantry?" She thought, "Did I sign the parchment?" She could not remember. She sat up in bed and got dressed, quickly going towards the kictchen to see if they were still there.

They had werent.

"They left already!" she thought sadly, and to her surprise, her eyes filled with tears. She had kinda wanted to go with them, if it gave her the chance to leave the red behind. Then her eyes lighted on a note set on the kicthen table:

"Thorin and Company to Burglar Annie greeting! For your hospitality our sincerest thanks, and for your off of profession assistance our grateful acceptance ("what offer?" she though, confused). Terms: cash on delivery, up to and not exceeding one fourteenth of total profits (if any); all traveling expenses guaranteed in any event; funeral expenses to be defrayed by us or our represtatives, if occasion arises and the matter is not otherwise arranged for.

Thinking it unnescessary to disrtub your esteemed repose, we have proceeded in advance to make requiste prepartions, and shall await your respected person at the Green Dragon Inn, Bywater at 11 am sharp. Trusting you will be  _punctual._

_We have the honour to remain_

_Yours deeply_

_Thorin &Co."_

And underneath was the contract, already signed by Balin and Thorin. Annie stared at it for a long few minutes, then looked up and checked the time.

"Oh my, its already 10:30!" she thought desperatly, and then, on pure impulse started packing. Never in her life had she packed so fast, "my, this is a change from the last time I left in a hurry." she found herself thinking as she hurridly stuffed her things into a knapsack. She left the hole (after leaving a hurried note for Bilbo explaining everything and locking the door) at quarter to eleven.

She barely made it, just on the stroke to eleven. The company had already pulled out of the inn, 13 dwarves plus Gandalf and were already on the road.

"Wait!" she shouted, running up towards them. Thorin, who was leading the company pulled his horse around and stared, stunned that she had actually shown up. Gandalf smiled "I told you she would come." he whispered under his breath to Thorin.

"Bravo!" Balin shouted, and gave her a kind smilie as she handed him the signed contact.

"I'm awfully sorry." she said, trying to catch her breath, "But I have come without my hat, and I left my pocket handkercheif behind and I havnt got any money. I didnt get your note until after 10L45 to be precise."

"Dont be precises," said Dwalin, "And dont worry. You will have to manage without pocket-handkercheifs, and a good many other things, before you get to the journey's end. As for a hat, I have got a spare hood and cloak in my luggage."

And thats how Annie found herself, riding a small pony, and wearing a cloak that didnt fit. "Thank goodness I dont have a beard, or else I would exactly like a dwarf!" she thought as they rode along the path and out of Hobbiton.

They stopped just at the end of Bree that night. The Dwarves cheerfully sat by the fire together, and even though Annie seemed very much alone to the others, Thorin saw the pool of red not far behind her. It always seemed to be there, following them. He watched as Annie quietly pulled out a heart shaped necklace and opened it. The others laughed and spoke among themselves, very much forgetting the little hobbit, but Thorin still watched her. He watched as she stared longingly at the picture inside the locket. The red brightened and billowed behind her as she put a finger to the picture. Thorin watched this silently with interest, he was starting to put the pieces together, slowly. Whomever was in that locket must have been important to her, and maybe, just maybe it could have something to do with the ghost that was following them?

The next morning, they broke their fast in silence. The morning fog had come upon them and it was frighteningly eerie. As the company gathered their belongings and mounted their horses, Annie slipped and fell to the ground. Kili immediately bent down to help her, with various "are you alrights?" and other nonsensical questions. What Kili didn't notice was that Annie's locket had fallen off and had tumbled into the bushes. Fortunately for Annie, Thorin did. He picked it up and stowed it away in his pocket before the hobbit noticed it was even missing.

As they were riding, Thorin took the time to finally open it. Inside, was a drawing of a baby girl, not more than a year old. She was lovely, with the same eyes as Annie. He stared at the picture for a long while, and then something caught his eye; a glimmer of red.

That night they sat down for dinner among the cliffs, happily eating and smoking, with Gandalf. He was fairly protective of Annie though, and it took some while for Thorin to find a moment to approach her alone. Finally, as Gandalf went to check on Fili and Kili and the horses he approached her softly, nodding hello.

Annie nodded back, she didn't fear Thorin exactly, but his stoic nature made her weary. She couldn't read him very well and it made her slightly nervous. It surprised her even more when he sat down next to her.

"How are you fairing?" he asked softly, she nodded "alright, I guess." she answered. Then they sat in silence for a while longer. If Annie hadn't been Annie, and Thorin hadn't been Throin, this would of been an awkward and uncomfortable meeting but fortunately, both of them were so used to silence that it worked. Finally, Thorin asked;

"The dwarves treating you alright?"

"Yes"

"Good"

Then there was more silence. After a beat, Thorin continued.

"You weren't what I expected, when Gandalf told me he found a hobbit to be our burglar." he told her, she looked at him curiously "why?" she asked. Thorin sighed a little, and spoke softly.

"Theres something clinging to you, a dark past and I know that its not my business to meddle but I want to know, what ails you, Annie?"

"What do you mean?"

"I know something follows you, its presence is here, right now." and he motioned towards the red. She nodded but didn't say anything. This took Thorin aback, he had expected an explanation for it. He pulled out the locket and showed her;

"I expect you'd be missing this?" he said, immediately her eyes lit up.

"Oh yes! How did-when did? You? Thank you." She stuttered, taking the locket and pressing it into her hands. She seemed relieved, and a little happier than before. She then looked up at Thorin and then decided that he deserved a bit of an explanation. She opened the locket and showed him the drawing of the baby girl. "My daughter." she told him. He nodded, "She's beautiful." he answered, Annie nodded,

"She was, wasn't she?"

Then Thorin made the connection between the red presence and Annie. He should of known the minute he opened the locket but it hadn't dawned on him, not being a parent himself. The presence must of noticed his epiphany, because just then it swelled up, lighting the fire red and shaking the trees. Annie looked up at it and whispered,

"Shhhhhhhh darling. It's okay"

"For a baby she throws a powerful spell" Thorin whispered to Annie

"No more powerful than the way I loved her." Annie replied softly, her eyes went up to look at the stars and Thorin saw that they were glassy with tears. She didn't offer any other explanation though, and they were silent for some time. Finally, not wanting to upset her more, Thorin decided that it was time for him to leave. He patted her knee (slightly awkwardly) and then stood up.

"I'll be on watch tonight." he told her, she nodded, before he left the fire he turned to her.

"Annie, don't let the past haunt you. Stay strong." he told her, and she nodded again silently then he walked away.

 


	2. Chapter 2

_And every demon wants his pound of flesh_

_But I like to keep some things to myself_

_I like to keep my issues drawn_

_It's always darkest before the dawn_

_  
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Gandalf continued to lead them the following morning. Thorin was starting to dread the wizard's leaving. Things seemed to runner smoother when Gandalf was around. Much to his dismay, that night as they settled into the remains of a farmer's house, the wizard left. It probably was more personal, seeing as they had argued about seeking the elves for help before but Thorin had stood his ground. He did not want to go anywhere near them.

Annie slightly panicked when she saw that Gandalf was leaving. This would be her first night alone with the Dwarves and she felt her anxiety rising. "Please don't let anything happened!" she thought desperately, "please please please." But, her prayers were unanswered. That night she found herself standing next to Fili and Kili, watching the firelight of three cave trolls and trying to gather up her courage to go investigate.

Fifteen minutes later, wrapped up tightly in a sack, she wished she never had left Bilbo's comfortable little hobbit hole. She watched helplessly as the trolls roasted her fellow companions and wracked her brains on what could be done to save them. One of the trolls then murmured, "Better cook them before the sun rises, Idon't fancy being _turned to stone."_ She had an idea. She cast a desperate glance towards Thorin, and the others,who fairly defeated, struggling in their own sacks, then shouted "Wait!"! Standing up in her sack, she tried to make herself look more confident than she felt. The trolls looked at her with interest, "What now? We're a little busy here." one of them grumbled. "You're um, not cooking them right!" she told them, making it up on the spot. "Really? What do you suppose we do?" the troll asked her, annoyed.

"Before...before you cook them, don't you think you should make the sauce first?" Annie asked, trying to reason for time, for the morning wasn't far away. The sky was already beginning to lighten.

"The sauce? What kind of sauce goes well with Dwarf?" he asked, Annie shrugged, "Well you could um use a rosemary sauce for one. I saw a lovely patch not too far from here."

Unfortunately for her, the trolls didn't buy it, the leader stomped up to her. "Dont think that I don't know what your doing, little Burrahobbit." he spat, poking her in the chest. She fell down onto to Bifur with a grunt. "Just stay quiet while we cook." he told her.

"No! You should squish them first, into jelly! It would be quite lovely on toast, wouldn't it?" she asked, and ignored the protests of her fellow companions. It must of been fairly frightening for them, hearing that they may be squished into jelly. The trolls just laughed.

"I'd rather just eat them whole!" the second one laughed, then picked up Bombur by his feet.

"Nice and crunchy!" the troll screeched, and as Bombur's head swung dangerously close to the trolls mouth, Annie saw Gandalf dart between the trees. "Don't! Don't eat him!" she shouted, the troll paused.

"And why not?"

"Well, he has um parasites. Yes, very large ones in his um stomach. Actually, they are all infested with parasites. I wouldn't risk it." She lied, hoping that it would work. The dwarves did not take this kindly. Who would want anybody to know that? They protested and Annie rolled her eyes, shooting a look at Thorin, who was the only one not protesting. He caught her glance and realized what she was up to, and quickly he nudged the others and then they figured it out.

"oh yes!"

"I have parasites too! Big ones!"

"Nasty little buggers, they are!"

And then there was a very bright flash of light. Finally Gandalf had returned! Annie watched in wonder as the trolls turned to stone and smiled. Thorin wasn't as pleased, when he was unwrapped and clothed again he said grumpily to Gandalf, "You showed up in the nick of time, but if it hadn't been for  _your_ burglar we wouldn't have been caught."

Gandalf nodded, "Yes, but she also bargained for time. None of you had thought of that." He told him, then turned away, leaving Thorin with his thoughts.

Annie was very relieved that they had not been eaten for supper, as were the rest of the dwarves. Infact, with the exception of Thorin, the company was very grateful that Annie had thought to stall the trolls until morning. Annie thought of her act of bravery, and for the first time in a long while felt pleased with herself

"You should do that more often." Kili told her, nudging her playfully with his elbow.

"What?" she asked,a little confused.

"Smile. You look so lovely." he answered, smiling himself. Annie felt her cheeks redden, she didnt even realize her mouth was capable of smiling anymore. It had been so long since she had a reason to, but it felt nice, she smiled shyly and murmured, "Thanks"

Kili nodded, then moved on to help his brother up. As the company arranged themselves, and Galndalf spoke softly to Thorin, Annie inspected the now stone trolls. Their clothes hadn't frozen with them, so she decided to finish what she started, and reached into the first one's pocket. In it, she found a large bag of gold coins, and a key. She pulled it out, curious as to what it was. Maybe it opened secret hideaway of food? They had lost most of theirs earlier, when the ponies had bolted. As she examined it in her, she felt someone gazing over her shoulder, she turned and saw Gandalf smiling at her.

"Well done, Miss Annie. It seems that you found the key to a cave troll. A very good find indeed." he told her, very pleased. She smiled at him, "I'm glad." she told him. Then Gandalf wandered back over to Thorin.

Several minutes late, Annie was standing outside a very nasty looking hole. It reminded her too much of her past, so she stayed out, but the rest of the company went in. A moment later, Gandalf reemerged from the cave and handed her a small sword.

"This seems just about right." he told her, but she shook her head. "Im no stranger to the blade, Gandalf but holding this scares me more than anything in this world." she told him, eyes pleading. Gandalf just nodded, "Good. Lets pray that you never have to use it."

He then turned to the company, who had gathered outside the cave, waiting for instruction. "Come! It is a few days walk towards Rivedale, and Elrond will be expecting you!" he told them. Thorin was especially upset with this news, he did not think kindly of the elves, but Gandalfs words were set in stone. They did not sing or tell stories that day, even though the weather improved; nor the next day, nor the day after. Annie was beginning to feel that danger was not far away from, so she remained still and silent. The dwarves took little notice of her, since she took up so little space. All except Kili, who found the hobbit somewhat fascinating but he found that his loyalties laid far too close to his brother, and to Erebor to act upon this new feeling of infatuation.

They arrived in Rivendale early in the morning on their third day of travel with Gandalf, and Annie was overjoyed to see that they would be resting in a place of comfort. She too was weary of the elves, but for different reasons than Thorin. They had helped her, but also witnessed her own self destruction, and to prayed that they would not bring that matter up with the dwarves. The elves were kind enough to let her change and bathe before dinner, seeing how dirty she was, and Annie was very grateful. When she took off her travelers clothes to step into the steaming tub, she ignored all the mirrors that showed her back. She couldn't bare to see what had become of her chokeberry tree. She could still hear the sounds of the whips, the jeers of the men that surrounded her and held her down. And the pain, she still felt it even though the scar tissue ran so deep she could no longer feel the clothes that touched her skin, or the warm water that surrounded her as she entered the bath. As she rested, she felt herself sinking into painful memories of her life before she set herself free by escaping. She sighed, the price of her freedom was a heavy one and it still haunted her after all these years. Then it found her, the red chill of wind swept over the room and made the water glow. "It was the only way." she whispered, "I stopped him." She tried to explain, "I put you where you would be safe." she told it, but it didn't listen. It never did.

The grand hall where the company dined was truly beautiful,and Kili felt very blessed to be there, unlike Thorin who's dislike of the elves shown even brighter in his eyes than before. Kili had to do a double take when Annie entered the dining hall, for he barely recognized her. She looked so elegant, that he forgot that she was a hobbit. She smiled shyly, very aware that she had thirteen eyes on her. Kili stood up and drew open a chair for her, and she nodded thanks. When Annie sat, Kili saw the beginning of it, a vine of thorns, underneath her long brown hair. It made him sad, for he was old enough to recognize whipping scars, but never before had he seen them on such a young thing. It reminded him of his own scars but he forbade himself to think about it. Now was not the time for that tin to be opened.

Annie heard the  _thump thump thump_ of stocking feet first, she turned around just in time to see a small child, barely past his toddler years running towards Elrond, with a maiden elf running behind him. Elrond smiled in spite of his company, and opened his arms towards the little boy. "Estel! Could you not wait to see your Ada until after dinner?" as asked the child. But Annie didn't hear any of this. Her eyes had frozen on the child, her face blanched white and her hands trembled.  _A child._ Not hers, but another. Her heart ached and she felt the wisp of the ghost pass through her hair. It was too much, too soon. She could still remember  _her_ little hands clinging onto her dress, the tiny shoes on her feet, the way she smiled. And the look, the last look her eyes had ever given. It haunted Annie, that look. No longer Annie saw the table at Rivendale, nor any of the dwarves, she only saw her child's eyes as they pleaded with her, full of confusion.

"Miss Annie?"

She felt suddenly jolted out of her trance, and then she felt all eyes on her, and unlike before, these looks were heavy.

"I-I have- to um-go" to stumbled over the hem of her dress slightly as she backed out of her chair, and then bolted away. She wanted to run and run until the memories faded and the hurt left her heart. But that didn't happen. Instead, she ran until she was out of breath, and then sat down on a bench far from the dining hall. Then, for the first time in five years, she let herself cry. She cried until her eyes felt as swollen as her heart, her tears stained red from the baby that haunted her.

She would have felt the hand on her back if the tree hadn't been there, she was very much surprised when she heard a voice say "Miss Annie? Are you alright?" She looked up through her hair and tears and saw Kili, face full of concern. She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. He reached to touch her arm, and she flinched away from his fingers. She was still afraid to be touched by another, for the only touches she knew were the sting of the whip, the slap of the hand, or the bite of cold metal.

Kili withdrew his hand immediately, and for the second time that night wondered what on earth had happened to this hobbit to make her so afraid.

"May I sit?" he asked softly, and waited for the nod until he did. He didn't know what to say next, or how to be a comfort. So they just sat for a while, until Annie's tears ran out, and then, finally, she whispered, "I'm sorry."

"No, you don't have to be sorry." he told her, then asked "Are you alright?"

Annie hesitated for a moment, then slowly shook her head, touching her locket she sobbed, "She left me."

"Who?"

"My beloved." Annie answered, touching her locket. "She was my best thing."

"What happened to her?"

She looked at him with dark eyes full of shame, "That is story that can never be passed on."

Then she looked away, down at her hands that were laying there empty in her lap. Kili sighed, he had never seen anyone so lost, or lonely. He tentatively reached out and gently put his hands in hers.

"Look at me." he told her, and he held his gaze until her eyes met his.

"We have all done bad things, but it doesn't make us bad people. I don't care about every detail form your past. All I care about it you."

She shook her head, "I am beyond repair. I am done with my graceless heart."

He smiled sadly, squeezing her hand, he told her "You and I, we've got more yesterday than anybody. Don't loose hope, Annie. It's always darkest before the dawn."

 

The company left Rivendale sooner than Annie would have liked. It was the one place where she felt safe, but she also honored Thorin's leadership. They traveled by foot in silence, crossing streams, walking over mountains and through waterfalls. For three days they walked, and on the fourth they found themselves in the midst of a mountain battle. As terrified as she was of falling, Annie found the giants fascinating. It wasn't until Thorin nearly fell to his death that she truly became frightened and began to pray that Gandalf would find them again soon.

They finally found refuge within a small mountain cave. Annie sighed in relief, at least they were out of the rain. She was soaked to the bone, and shivering. Thorin saw her shiver, and handed her his extra blanket, "Get some sleep." he told her, "We leave at first light." he told the rest. As the company nodded off, Annie found herself restless. Finally she sat up, wrapping Thorin's extra blanket around her. She missed Rivendale, and Bag End and Gandalf. The dwarves were pleasant to her, but she still felt like an outcast.

"Feeling homesick?" a voice said from behind her. Annie jumped and turned around and saw Bofur, keep watch. She nodded.

"A little, even though I really don't have a home to think of as mine." she told him, he nodded then asked "What do you mean? You had a lovely home."

"Bag End? To tell you the truth, I was just a guest there. Mr. Baggins was kind enough to take me in until I had found a place of my own."

"Oh. I see. Were you raised in the Shire?" he asked lightly, happy to have somebody to speak with. Annie shook her head, "I was born into the world of men, on a plantation farm."

"Did you like it there?", and too his surprise she shook her head. "No, I ran away from there, and I am never going back." she said bitterly, then to change the subject she asked

"Do you remember much of Erebor?" she asked him, but he shook his head. "I was born not long after the dwarves lost the mountain." Annie nodded, and was just about to answer when the earth began to shake.

"Wake up!" Thorin shouted, jumping to his feet as a huge crack formed beneath them, and then they fell.

Annie woke to darknes. She didn't know where she was or how she had gotten there. She looked up and saw the dim lights of Goblin City. "I must of fallen further than the rest." She thought, and then sat up. She realized she was not alone. The red presence had returned, glowing brightly in front of her. Frightened, Annie jumped up, watching it with a a fearful eye. In the darkness it glowed brighter and brighter, until finally it took the shape of a child. Annie watched fearfully as it became solid, sparkling with light. She was frightened by this figure. She knew who it was, it was her beloved. Annie stood in awe in front of the child. The figure looked at her and smiled. Annie had finally found her, she had found her in the darkness of the mountain. Annie reached out to her, and the child took a step forward. Then Annie spoke:

"Tell me the truth. Didn't you come from the other side?"

And then presence answered in a soft low voice, unlike anything of this world. "Yes. I was on the other side."

"You came back because of me?" Annie asked.

"Yes." It answered.

"You remember me?" it asked.

Annie nodded. "Yes. I remember you."

"You never forgot me?"

"Your face is mine." Annie answered. "Do you forgive me? Will you stay? Your safe here now." she told it.

"Where are the men without skin?" it asked

"Out there. Way off." Annie answered, pointing up.

"Can they get in here?"

"No. They tried that once but I stopped them. They won't ever come back.." Annie told told her.

"One of them was in the house I was in. He hurt me." the spirit told her.

Annie shook her head, "They cant hurt us no more." she whispered. Then, "I loved you too much to let them hurt you."

The spririt glowed brighter, "I will protect you." it told her.

"Why?"

"I have found you again; you have come back to me."

Annie smiled, "You are my beloved."

"You are mine."

"I loved you."

"You are mine"

And then, as suddenly as it had appeared, it vanished into the darkness but Annie still felt her. This time it was different, no more did the red presence feel like a haunt but now more of a blessing. It glowed inside of her, giving her strength. Never before had the presence made itself known to her like that, and it gave her hope. Maybe, just maybe her baby had begun to forgive her. "I will never know through if I don't find my way out." Annie thought desperately, "and find the others. If I only knew where I was!".

She started walking in what she hoped was the right direction. Every now and then she would glimpse the red presence in front of her. It flickered in and out like candlelight. She followed it the best she could, but she still felt hopelessly lost. Suddenly, her toe touched something cold, and round. She looked down, and in the dim light she saw that she had stepped on a small, golden ring. She picked it up, "What's this?" she asked, holding it up to the light. She pocketed it, and kept walking, following the guiding red light until it lead her into daylight.

She reunited with the Dwarves shortly after, and was pleasantly surprised to find that Gandalf had returned. He was overjoyed to see her, thinking that she had been lost in the Goblin caves. The dwarves were happy to see her too, but puzzled, for they hadn't seen her since before the Goblins captured them.

Then they heard the wolves howl.

"Quick! Run you fools!" Gandalf shouted and they darted off into the trees.Annie ran as fast as she could, but she could feel herself tiring. Hobbits were'nt ment to run for this long without any food! She scambled with the others into the trees and watched with horror as the pack of orcs surrounded them. She closed her eyes, trying to drown out the Pale Orc's voice. She froze with horror as she felt the tree move beneath her and clutched the branch until her knuckles turned white. She watched in almost a dream like state as she saw Thorin run towards the Orc, and winced as the Orc cut him down.

_No, no no no, no no, no no. He cannot die now._

_  
_Annie though desperatly, and then she felt a sudden warmth in her chest. She looked down, and saw a faint red glow. She felt herself rise up from the branch and felt invisible hands guide hers to the sword on her belt. Annie looked up, and saw a stark blade rise, and knew that this was her one chance to make amends with Fate.

 

She raised her sword, and ran towards the Orc towering over Thorin. She felt her hands cut him down, and then branished it at the Pale Orc. He grinned evilly at her and Annie felt her very soul quiver. She raised her sword;

"Dont you dare come any where near him, you." She threatened in the meanest voice she could muster.

The Pale Orc just laughed, raised his hand and slapped her hard.

The last thing Annie remembered was falling to the ground, and the shreik of an eagle before everything went black.

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Annie woke to hushed voices whispering around her. Opened her eyes slowly agaisnt the bright light.  _Where am I? What Happened?_ She struggled to remember, but only saw flashes; the pale orc, Thorin laying in the ground, trees and feathers.

She then felt pressure on her hand, someone was squeezing it.

"Miss Annie? Are you awake? Can you hear me?" a rough voice was murmuring softly. 

Annie turned her head and saw Fili looking down with her, eyes full of concern. She nodded.

"Hello." she whispered weakly, her voice raspy.

Fili smiled, "How are you fairing?" he asked gently

Annie shrugged, "A bit thirsty." and then tried to push herself help. 

"Careful, you were out for a while. Do you remember much?" Fili asked while pouring her a cup of water. 

Annie shook her head, "We had escaped the Goblins, and there was fire and trees and feathers." she rambled, feeling a little light headed. 

Fili nodded and smiled, "Yes, do you remember what you did?"

Annie shook her head.

"Your a hero, Miss Annie. You shaved Thorin."

"Me?"

"Yes"

"Oh."

Annie fingered the glass of water.  _No one has ever called me that before._

"Where are we now?" she asked

"We are at Beorn's House. He is an old friend of Gandalf's." Fili explained. Annie just nodded and took a sip of water.

They both jumped as the door banged open and an angry yet regal Thorin came stomping in.

"Is she awake yet?" he asked, and then saw her. He stode over to her, pointing his finger.

"You. You why did you do that? You nearly got yourself killed." he half shouted, ignoring Fili's protests.

Annie just stuttered as Thorin spoke over her, "Didnt I say that you would be a burden on this quest? Didnt I say that it was useless to bring not only a hobbit, but a she-hobbit along with us?" he countinued on for some time, rambling about how he had thought she was such a burden and that he never really trusted her but then he stopped and put both hands on her shoulders.

"Never, have I been so wrong in my entire life." he whispered, and he smiled at her.

Annie smiled back, speechless as he embraced her.

"Thank you."

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They stayed at Beorns for five more days, until Annie was able to get up on her feet again. On the dawn of the fifth day, Gandalf led them deep into the forest to the edge of the Mirkwood forest. "Now" Gandalf told them, "You are to stick to the path,  _do not stray from it._ There is a black river that flows through,  _do not drink from it."_ he warned them.

"Are you not coming with us?" Annie asked, scared that the wizard was going to leave them again. Gandalf shook his head, "I am needed elsewhere."

"I wish you the best of luck." he told them, and then he vanished.

The company entered the forest cautiously, the dark branches and evil smells haunting them. As they walked deeper into the forest, Annie heard the cries of a baby, she tried to ignore it, but then she heard it again, this time stronger and louder than before. A wailing, the crying of a baby, right off the path. She stopped in her tracks, and then stepped forward towards the noise. It sounded so real, just like the way  _she_  used to cry at night, that Annie had to follow it. Even though she had spoken with her spirit, Annie still wanted her. She wanted to hold her baby again so badly that she forgot the dangers of the forest. The others must have heard it too because immediately both Bofur and Kili grabbed her arms and pulled her back.

"No!" she screeched, this was the loudest she had ever spoken and it surprised them.

"Its just an illusion, Miss Annie." Balin tried to reason with her.

"No, No! Its my baby, shes crying! I need to help her, I need to explain to her why I did." annie shouted at them, struggling to get free. "Let go of me, please." she begged.

Thorin watched sadly as the hobbit continued to struggle against the dwarves. he knew why she desperately wanted to follow the cries but they knew nothing of her past and it was scaring them. Bomfur gave him a look and whispered, "she better quiet down soon, all this yelling is going to attract unwanted attention." He was right, of course.

"You must not stray from the path, remember what Gandalf said." Balin told her as she struggled, "Its the forest trying to trick you, please believe me Annie." She shook her head, tears streaming down her face.

"You don't understand, its her, my baby, she's right there. If only she'll listen to me and understand that I love her maybe she'll find peace." she cried. The dwarves looked at each other, for this was new to them. Annie finally stopped struggling and fell to the ground, defeated and crying. Kili kneeled down next to her and touched her shoulder. She flinched away, sending him a fierce look that obviously said "don't touch me." He sighed and put his hand down, then said, "It's alright Annie, the forest of Mirkwood has been taunting us all too. Please don't cry."

"Child, what happened to you?" Balin asked softly. Annie looked around at the 13 dwarves, each one fairly concerned about her. This was new to Annie, never in her life had anyone cared this much, and now she had 13 faces looking down at her. It felt strange, but also good, to be wanted. She took a breath but she wasn't ready to tell anyone, because telling them would be admitting that it actually happened.

"It's not a pretty story." she told them, but they still looked at her with caring eyes. She shifted, now feeling very aware that they weren't the only ones watching her.

"Is this the time to tell?" she asked them, " I think we should keep on our journey." She looked to Thorin, and he nodded. "We'll go on until dusk-if we can tell when dusk is- and then make camp for the night." he told them company, then motioned for them to continue. They did, still slightly concerned about their burglar but also in loyalty to follow their leader. Kili offered Annie a hand up and she took it. He helped her up as Balin stood beside her. "Are you alright now, miss?" he asked her, she nodded shakily. "If you hear anything else, let us know and do not go off into the forest." he firmly warned her, but then his face softened, "I know you've seen hard times, we all have, if you need anything you just let me know.", then he patted her arm and started walking. Kili looked at her, "He's right, you know. We're a company and that means we support each other." He told her, she nodded again and they followed Balin.

After a few minutes of walking, Kili fell into step with her. Annie was pretty sure he was just trying to make sure she didn't bolt for the trees again, but she found his presence comforting none the less. She was slightly nervous that when he had reached to touch her shoulder, her sweater had slipped and he had seen the scars but she wasn't sure. It was hard to read his face in this light. The continued to walking in silence, Annie continued to feel the presence of something evil watching them, and it made her nervous. She hadn't felt her baby since they had entered the forest, and that scared her. She reached up to touch her locket, it gave her a small comfort just to hold on to it. Kili noticed the locket, many of times he had seen it when they camped in the fire light as she opened it and looked inside, but he had been too shy to ask. Now, his curiosity burned even brighter, until finally he decided to ask about it.

"May I ask you something, Annie?"

"Yes."

"Who's picture is inside your locket?"

Annie hesitated, and then suddenly found courage, Kili was easier to speak with than Thorin, and she had shown him. She pulled out her locket and opened it, turning it towards Kili.

"My daughter." She told him, he looked at it for a long while.

"She's lovely, whats her name?"

Annie sighed, this part was sad. "She left too soon to be given a name, she's still my beloved though." She answered, Kili was taken aback, he did not expect that answer.

"I am so sorry." he whispered, and like Thorin began to weave the threads together, Annie had had a daughter, but she died as a baby, then he finally understood her behavior in the forest. If he had heard a loved one crying, he would of done the same thing. He wanted to hug her, to hold her and tell her things will be alright, but he then remembered that she didn't like being touched so he didn't. This made him wonder even more about this strange hobbit. What had made her like this? Scared and sad, she shouldn't feel like this, he thought, she had already saved their lives, twice. She doesn't deserved anything like this all all. He looked at her, and realized that he had been silent for a while but she seemed perfectly content with the silence so he said nothing.


	3. Chapter 3

_ And I've been a fool and I've been blind _

_ I can never leave the past behind _

_ I can see no way, I can see no way _

_ I'm always dragging that horse around _   
  
  


8888888

 

The company camped in darkness that night, for they were too afraid to light a fire. The darkness nor they eyes that watched them didn't scare Annie as much as the continuous cries that came from the trees. She was glad for the darkness, it masked the tears in her eyes. She knew the company was worried about her, and that they probably doubted her after her episode earlier. Annie didn't want them to see her like this, scared, meek and alone. She so badly wanted to live up to their expectations, to be brave and fearless like them. She knew Thorin's story, he had seen way worse than she ever did and still he stood tall.  _But then_ she thought  _he would never have done what you did._

Suddenly in the darkness she heard something, a strange clicking noise. Immediately she slipped the ring on her finger, and felt herself turn invisible. She knew that the darkness masked her from the dwarves, but it didn't from whatever was hunting them. It was her only chance to avoid being caught. She then tried to wake up whomever was next to her.

"Wake up, I think theres something out there?"

"Who this?" Kili or Fili answered

"Annie."

There was a smack as he woke up the next dwarf.

"Ouch!"

"Who's that?"

"Fili. Wake up!"

"What?"

"Theres something out there."

A clang of metal as they drew swords, which woke the rest of the company.

"Hey! You nearly caught my beard!"

"Watch where youre stepping, mate."

"Who's that? Bofur?"

"No, its Bombur"

"Ouch, get off my hand!"

" _Menu Tarag baud!"_

"What did he say?"

"I don't know, I don't speak ancient dwarfish."

"But you're a dwarf…."

"EVERYBODY QUIET!"

There was a flash of bright light, and Thorin's angry face lit in the darkness.

"What is happening? What did you hear?" he asked them, but before anybody could answer, they were attacked by large spiders, with spindly legs and sharp venomous fangs. Thorin dropped the match and it fell, catching a blanket on fire. Annie barely escaped their clutches, but watched in horror through the flames of the fire as her companions were caught by the large creatures, and spun tightly by their webs. She quickly dashed between the trees and followed the spiders as they took her company back to their. The creatures took no notice of her, not only because of her invisibility but also because she was a hobbit. Which meant that she was quick and quiet on her feet, and so small she could pass between their gigantic legs unnoticed.

Annie followed them, and quietly approached the nests. She saw the spiders spin their bundles onto the webs high above and sighed. The task before her was impossible, but she needed to save her friends. She owed them that, at least. She crept silently forwards and looked up, right above her, about 20 feet in the air was the first bundle. Looking up, she saw a silver fur lined hood, and guessed that it was either Thorin or Bifur. The spiders were now speaking among themselves, trying to decide which dwarf to eat first. As they quibbled, Annie suddenly had an idea. She took in a deep breath, than began to sing:

_Old fat spider spinning in a tree!_

_Old fat spider cant see me!_

_Attercop!Attercop!_

_Wont you stop_

_Stop your spinning and look for me?_

_Old Tomnoddy, all big body,_

_Old Tomnoddy, cant spy me_

_Attercop! Attercop!_

_Down you drop_

_Youll never catch me up your tree!_

As she sang she skipped around the nest, rustling bushed and breaking twigs. Trying as hard as she could to confuse the arachnids. This caught the spiders attention right away, for nobody likes being called an Attercop. They immediately gathered together, searching in all directions for her.

"What is this monstrosity?!" they shouted, "Who darts among the trees but cant be seen?", Annie then threw a moss covered rock to her left, and heard it crash in the undergrowth. "Over there!" they shouted, and at once the band of spiders scuttled off towards the noise, leaving the nest empty.

Knowing she only had seconds, Annie quickly put the ring back in her pocket and ran towards the nest. She began to to cut each bundle down. The dwarves were weak, from spider poison and being hung upside down. Thorin was most unhappy, for he had been caught first and suffered from a very painful spider sting. "Quick quick!" she told him as she unwrapped him from the sticky webs, "we have to hurry before they return!" Thorin nodded and stood up on wobbly legs. "Help me with the others" she told him, and he did. Bombur was especially difficult, al he wanted was to fall asleep, but Thorin prodded and poked him until he stood.

Annie then turned to the last bundle on her left and began cutting away at the webs. It was Kili, and he was very grateful to see her. "Miss Annie!" he shouted, "You are a site for sore eyes." he told her, and she smiled despite their circumstances. "Shhhhhh" she hushed him, putting her fingers to his lips. "Let me untie you so we can get out of this nest, then we can celebrate." she told him, he nodded silently and struggled to free his arms. "Here" she told him, showing her Sting, and then she quickly cut him loose.

After Kili was up and standing, she turned and once again saw thirteen dwarves staring at her, but this time they had looks of gratitude on theirs faces. "Quickly, lets go!" she told them, and then lead them towards the exit. They ran as fast as they could until they came upon the trail again but unfortunately for them, it was already occupied with Wood Elves.

The minute the company set foot on the path they found arrows pointed at them.

"We could hear you breathing from a mile away." The head elf spat angrily, then he turned to Thorin, "What brings you to our woods, Master Dwarf?" the elf asked, but Thorin, being as proud as he was, didn't answer. The company stood silent, not wanting to give away their quest to the very creatures who let their kingdom burn. The elf stared down at Thorin, challenging him to speak, and when he didn't he turned to his guards.

"Bind their hands and blind their eyes." he told them, "We'll let King Tharanduil decide their fate." and so they did. Kili felt Annie trembled and pushed her behind him, "Do not worry, I will not let them harm you." he assured her. The lead elf, who was supervising the capture of the others as they were lead and bound into a line, turned towards Kili.

"Last one. Come dwarf, don't be hasty." he sneered and grabbed at Kili's arm. Kili snarled and took a step back, pushing Annie behind him. The elf rolled his eyes and struck Kili hard in then face. The dwarf crumpled to the ground, holding his bruised cheek and groaning in pain. Annie backed up, and turned to run but another elf grabbed her, holding her arms behind her.

The lead elf kicked Kili,  and then roughly grabbed his arms and secured them tightly behind his back with rope from his belt. Kili kicked and struggled against his bonds as the elf led him to the line up and secured him behind Fili.

"Watch this one." he warned the other guards as he blindfolded Kili. The he turned back to Annie;

"What do we have here?" he said, looking at her, "A hobbit? Whats the like of you doing with this company?" he asked her, but she remained silent, like the others. The elf squinted at her and bent down to her height, "I know you." he whispered, and then smiled. "The King shall be surprised to see you again." he sneered, and the elf holding her threw her to the ground, "Very surprised indeed.". He mumbled as she bound her hands with sharp twine.

The last thing Annie saw was the inside of a sack as it covered her head.

888888

The were the most unhappy, being unable to see or use their hands they were lead blindly to the elven palace. King Tharanduil was also quite unhappy, for they had interrupted his feast. He scowled as he looked over the company, and then his eyes laid on Annie as the guards removed the sack from her head. She saw him too, and tried to meet his eyes, to tell him silently not to spill her secret, but on this night Tharanduil felt cheated, and upset that the dwarves trespassed on his land so he had no mercy for the hobbit. He turned to her and smiled, "Look who we have hear, Ann E, I never thought I would see the likes of you again." he said, his voiced laced with poison. She tried hard not to show any emotions, but it was hard. He had the upper hand, and if he spoke the truth to the company she would be too shamed to look in any of their faces again.

He motioned for the blindfolds to be taken off the dwarves, and Thorin was finally able to see where he was. The palace of the elves was pleasant enough, but his hatred for the King blinded him. He struggled against the twine that held his wrists behind his back, and immediately he felt all arrows on him.

"It would be wise, Dawrf for you to stay still." one of the guards warned him and he relecutantly did, but still hated the position he was in.

Thorin was confused, Annie never told them that she had a connection with the elves of Mirkwood. The very same elves that had denied his people help in Erebor. He wondered how she knew them, and if maybe it could help their situation.

Tharaduil turned to Annie once again, "I think it's time you paid for your crime." He told her coldly, and then motioned for the guards to seize her. Immediately the dwarves protested, "No!" they shouted but their pleads were unheard and they watched helplessly as Annie was taken away. Tharaduil laughed, "I see no reason why you defend her." he told them, "She is nothing but a murderer." he spat angrily.

Thorin was now very confused. Annie? A murderer? No, it couldn't be. As He shook his head in disbelief, Tharanduil smiled, "Thorin Oakensheild. You should learn to choose your company more wisely." he told him, "Take this as a favor, trust me it would not be wise to have the likes her, among you."

"Why?"

"Didn't she tell you? About her daughter?"

"Yes."

"The whole story?"

Thorin shook his head, then exchanged glances with the others. Did they really want to hear this? Before he could even ask the others, the elven king had began his story.

"Some time ago, 5 years now I believe, I was hunting with my troops when we came across a peculiar sight: a shed surrounded by men wielding axes and knifes. As we approached closer, we saw that they were trying to enter it. At first we heard the crying of a child, so we immediately took action and helped the men, but the crying stopped just as we swung the doors open. Inside was a horrid sight: there was a hobbit woman holding an infant by the heels. She did not look at us; she simply swung the baby toward the wall planks, missed and tried to connect a second time, I interfered and ran through the door behind them and snatched the baby from the arch of its mothers swing. The men were angry when they found they had nothing to claim. The two they hunted weren't well enough to bring back alive and to be raised properly to do the work their plantation desperately needed. The child's blood had pumped down the dress of the hobbit staining her hands and feet. They said she had gone wild, due to the mishandling of the nephew who'd over beat her and made her cut and run. My gold persuaded them to let me take the hobbit and the young one off their hands and they agreed. First I took pity on her, after I learned what those men did to her but when I realized that the baby was hers I cast her out of my kingdom. There is no room for an infant killer here." As the King finished, there was an eerie silence over the company. None of them had even imagined the terrors that the little hobbit had gone through, but not one of them had pity for her. She had killed her own daughter! With this thought heavy on their minds, they let the elves lead them to their cells.

Thorin was especially upset, for he was beginning to have faith in Annie. In his eyes she had grown throughout the journey in confidence and bravery but now all he felt was betrayal and disappointment. She had lied to him, to all of them about the fate of her daughter, leading them to believe she had lost her. Now the truth was exposed, raw and ragged it cut at his heart and made him wish Gandalf had chosen someone else to be his burglar. He leaned his head against the wall of his cell and looked up towards the ceiling, searching it for the nonexistent answer that would help him escape from this prison. Who would have thought it would come to this? If the dwarves of Erebor saw their King like this, locked in a dungeon with shackles on his wrists they would be ashamed. Then he heard a noise, like small knuckles rapping against the door. Confused, he sat up taller against the wall, listening for the knock to come again. It did, this time followed by a voice.

"Thorin? Are you there?" it whispered, and then he saw Annie's eyes peering in through the bars of the door. He glared, she was the last person he wanted to see.

"What do you want?" he asked harshly, he heard the hobbit sigh, "He told you, didnt he?" she asked, watching him. Thorin just nodded.

"That was a long time ago, but theres no time to discuss that now. I think I can help you escape." she whispered, and then she reached through the bars and he saw in her hand the key to the shackles that kept him tethered to the wall.

"Youre going to have to toss it, for I cannot reach that far." he told her, and she did. Then,in  whispers she told him her plan, and he reluctantly agreed.

888

When Annie had devised quite a clever escape plan for her company she didn't realize it would be so wet. Now as she and 13 barrels bobbed down the river, she had time to worry about her future. She had been fairly upset when the King had ordered her to the dungeon, and spent most the night worrying about when the dwarves would think of her if Tharanduil had told them the truth. They had no time to inquire about it though when they saw her, for they had to be quick in order to escape unseen. No dwarf questioned her as she had stuck in all in barrels, even though Thorin had given her quite a dark look. This concerned her, but she cast that thought from her might though, and focused solely on remaining afloat on the barrel. When time gave them the opportunity to drift ashore and be released from their wet prisons, Annie was relieved that all had survived.

The first barrel cut loose by Annie and pushed to the shore to be opened was that of Thorin's. Groans came from inside and out crept a most unhappy dwarf. Wet straw was in his draggled beard; he was so sore and stiff, so bruised and buffeted he could hardly stand or stumble through the shallow water to lie groaning on the shore. It was some time before he would be even polite to the hobbit.

Annie was quite cross with him. "Are you still in prison, or are you free? If you want food, and if you want to go on with this silly adventure-it's yours after all and not mine-you better slap your arms and rub your legs and help me get the others out while there is a chance!"

Thorin of course saw the sense of this, so after a few more groans he got up and helped the hobbit as well as he could. They were quite a sorry lot; Dwalin and Balin were tow of the most unhappy, Nori, Ori, Oin and Gloin were waterlogged and seemed only half alive and poor fat Bombur was asleep again. Only Fili and Kili had a spring in their steps and more or less of a smilie of their face. Although neither met Annie's eye, and when Kili thanked her there was an ounce of coldness in his voice. Annie tried not to dwell on it too much, they had more important things to worry about right now.

They entered the city of Long Lake, where Thorin was welcomed kindly. This was a blessing for the company, after being treated like prisoners by the elves, spiders and goblins. After feasting royally with the court, the tired but well fed dwarves and hobbit were led to the guest house. Annie retreated upstairs silently and let herself into one of the smaller bedrooms, she had noticed the company's change of emotions. No longer did they speak with her, or look at her kindly. She understood though, for who would want to be kind to her after they found out the truth?

888

After they entered the hosue and were left alone, Balin called a meeting in the dining area, "Thorin, we have a bone to pick with you, about the hobbit." Thorin looked at his companion, "yes?" Balin continued, stumbling over awkward words;

"We have come to a conclusion that it is not safe for the hobbit to continue on with us to Erebor." he said

"Yes, what if she decides that she wants the treasure for herself-" Fili started

"-And slits our throats in the night to get at it." Kili finished

"She's a murderer, Thorin. A child-killer. I don't know what Gandalf was thinking when he hired her." Dwahlin pitched in. The others nodded in agreement, none of them felt safe, now that they knew the truth behind the little hobbit.

"She's a cold blooded killer, that one." Bofur told Thorin, "I think it was all an act to gain our sympathy, to catch us off guard!" Everyone nodded, it seemed to Thorin that they had been speaking without him, while he was in meetings with the King. "now, listen, we don't know if any of that is true, she's just-" he started but was cut off by Fili,

"She is not to be trusted, Thorin. We don't want her in our company anymore. She can stay here, but we have agreed that we don't want her coming with us."

Thorin sighed, "What about Gandalf?"

"I'm sure he was conned into her act too, we'll tell him the truth when we see him. Theres no harm in leaving her here. Infact, we could have them stick her in the dungeon for safe keeping if we wish." Fili continued.

After many more protests, Thorin finally raised his hands in defeat, "alright. Alright, I will go inform Miss Annie of our decision. Stay down here" And he turned and left, slamming the door shut. He was fairly upset, and disappointed. The hobbit had saved them on numerous occasions now, but she was not to be trusted, not after what she did.

Thorin knocked on her door, to tell her the news. She would not be coming with them, it had been a company decision. He entered without hearing an answer, and stood firmly in the doorway.

"Annie, the others and I have been talking, and we have decided that it is in our best interest that you stay behind." he told her.

She looked at him, she had known something was wrong when she let them out of those barrels but she didnt know what it was.

"What? Why?"

"Your not fit for the job."

"But Gandalf chose me, you trust his decisions right?"

"I didn't think Gandalf would have chosen a murderer." Thorin spat at her, becoming angry. Annie stared at him, eyes filling up with tears, he knew. He knew and he hated her for it, for what she had to do to her baby, the sharp look in his eyes gave it all away.

"How?" she asks quietly

He shook his head, "How could you, Annie, your own child. And here you are acting all sad that she's gone when it was you that took her away! How dare you act like this!" he shouted

Annie stood up, this wasn't happening, how could he not understand. He was the one who came to her, who comforted her. What had he heard? She had had no choice.

"You don't understand!" she tried to explain "i-" but she was cut off by Thorin

"I heard the elves talk, I know what they said. She wouldn't be quiet so you killed her to save your own life. You were SELFISH, you are selfish, Annie. How could you have done that, to your own child." he shouted, now tears were forming in his eyes, so full with rage and sorrow with remembering what he heard.

"Even for all the gold of Erebor I would have not done that." he told her.

Annie watched him pace the room, as her eyes shined with tears. It was a few moments before she spoke. " I did it out of love, Thorin." she finally whispered, and then looked him right in the eye, "they were coming to take me back, I didn't want that life for her. She seemed better off safe in heaven than in the arms of me."

"But there must have been another way, you didn't have to-murder her."

"They had come to take me back, and if I thought anything it was No. No. Nono. Nonono. Simple. I just flew. Collected every bit of life I had made, all the parts of me that were precious and fine and beautiful and carried, pushed, dragged them through the veil out, away, over there where no one could hurt them. Please, believe -."

"How can I?"

"I stopped him." she said, meeting Thorin in the eyes. "I took and put my baby where she'd be safe."

"Why would you even do such a thing?"

"Because I  _loved her."_

"Your love is too thick." he told her

"Too thick? Love is or it ain't. Thin love isn't love at all."

"Yeah but it didn't work, did it? Did it work?" he asked

"It worked." Annie whispered.

"How? She is dead? How did it work?"

"She isn't at the plantation. They don't have her. It's all that matters." she told him.

"Maybe there's worse." he shouted, now angry

"Its not my job to know what's worse. Its my job to know what is and to keep what I love away from what I know is terrible. I did just that." she argued back

"What you did was wrong, Annie."

"I should have gone on back there? Taken my baby back there?" she asked

"There could have been a way. Some other way."

"What way? She asked

"You got two feet, Annie, not four." he spat,

"They hurt me. Look!"

And with that she pulled off her sweater and showed him her back. He stared in disbelief. Hundreds of whipping scars covered every inch of her back, red and ugly vines, like thorns. He stared for a long while, then reached out to touch the scars, brushing his hands over them slightly. She didn't feel a thing, the scar tissue was so deep. She turned around to look at him, hugging her sweater to her chest, the look in her eyes said it all. Thorin eyes softened . "They would have done it to her too if they had caught us." she whispered.

"We've all been whipped."

"No. They  _hurt me,_ Thorin." she told him, and this time he understood.

"They ra-"

"Don't say it." she cut him off as he eyes flashed darkly

He couldn't even imagine a place where they would treat someone so badly that she would rather kill her own child than go back, and then he didn't understand it completely, but enough to forgive. Love is a powerful weapon, and he realized that he would of done the same for any of his kin. It was that strong of a love.

He sighed, then said, "We leave at first light, I suggest you get some sleep if you indent to accompany us." She looked at him and saw that he forgave her for what she did.

He turned to leave and opened the door, there he saw his 12 companions all looking at him with wide eyes. He shut the door, then opened his mouth to tell them, to try to explain what Annie had gone through, to tell them that those men had tortured her, and whipped her, and degraded her. She ran away to give her child a new life, she did her duty as a mother, but he didn't have to, they had heard every word and understood.

 


	4. Chapter 4

_ And our love is pastured such a mournful sound _

_ Tonight I'm gonna bury that horse in the ground _

_ So I like to keep my issues drawn _

_But it's always darkest before the dawn_  
  
888

After Thorin left, Annie sat on her bed, hands trembling and cried. He knew, they all knew and they hated her for what she had to do. Did she even want to go with them? She thought of Kili and his kind smile, but then also how he had looked at her when she let him out of the barrel. The warmth in his eyes had vanished. She wished that she could explain to him what happened, to make him understand. She thought of the company as a whole, what did they know about having sons and daughters? As far as she knew none of them had children, or even wives. If they did, they never mentioned them. She didn't know what to do, part of her wanted to leave, to go back to Bag End and stay hidden there until she died, but another part of her urged her to finish what she started. She touched her locket, it felt hot in her hands, like red embers of a dying fire. "What should I do?" she whispered to the presence, who had crept inside the locket and stayed there. It glowed even brighter, and she felt something in her chest. A strong desire to see the Lonely Mountain, and an even stronger sense that she must finish this adventure. She thought of the dwarves, and how deep their memories were, and how deep their grudges went. They never forgave nor forgot what happened to them, they lost everything when that dragon came from the West. She would have given up hope long ago, but they didn't. They stayed loyalty their home, even if it meant risking everything they had. They came to face their foe, to reclaim their home and they weren't going to stop until it was theirs again. This gave her hope, and then she realized that if she ever wanted to give her baby peace, she had to forgive herself for what she did. She had to face her own dragon and reclaim her heart from this presence. Something about the Lonely Mountain called to her, "Maybe if I help then take back their home, I will find a way to take back my heart?she whispered out loud.

She was shaken out of her thoughts by a sudden  _rap rap rap_  on the door. Hesitantly, she stood up and walked towards the door, opening it a crack. On the other side she saw Kili, the last person she wanted to see in all of middle earth. "Good Evening" she whispered, she couldn't even look him in the eye, she knew he knew and was ashamed. "Good evening, miss Annie" he told her politely, "I wish to speak with you." she just nodded, then opened the door wider, " please" she told him, trying to keep her voice steady. All sorts of emotions were flowing through her; shame, anger, fear. He had been part of company that had tried to expel her, and now he was here in her bedroom. The stood in the room in silence, the tension was so thick Annie could feel it in the air, and the red presence wasn't being helpful as it thumped and flickered inside her locket. Finally Kili spoke;

"Did it really happen?"

"I -." Annie stumbled

"I trusted you with my life and followed you loyally. I think I deserve an answer." he told her firmly"

Tears choked Annie, rendering her speechless. She looked away from Kili, not knowing what to say. Finally she nodded, "I did it out of love." she told him, feeling like a broken record.

"I don't understand."

"How could you? You're just a dwarf, not -"

"Not what? Capable of loving, because I'm a dwarf?"

"I was going to say-"

"Ive killed many orcs, and goblins and other creatures but I would never in my life turn on my own kin."

"You didn't see the hate in their eyes, nor hear the words they called me. I didn't even have a name back then, I was an it. Just something they could use to barter with. And it would have been the same for her. What would you have done?" she tried to explain, but Kili just shook his head, he couldn't imagine a place where things like this actually happened. He thought of Fili, and desperately tried to put himself in Annie's shoes but failed.

"I don't understand. There must have been another way."

"Don't you think I know that? Fear just took over me. All I knew was that they could not have her."

"Do you regret it?"

She sighed, "Every single day."

"Good." he said coldly

Annie stared at him, Whatever happened to "We're a company, and that means we support each other?" shouldn't he be supporting her now, instead of yelling at her?

They stared at each other, each feeling the thickness in the air. The Kili turned towards the door. "It is late." he told her, then bid her goodnight and left, feeling fairly confused and very unsatisfied. He had gone in there with the intention of comforting the hobbit, but anger had taken a hold of him and caused him to lash out. He still didn't understand, and was beginning to feel like he never would.

Downstairs in the living room, 13 dwarves sat in deep thought. Even though they had listened to what Annie had told Thorin, and Thorin had decided that she would be coming with them, they felt afraid. None of them knew how to act around the little hobbit now that the truth had been revealed. Was she angry at them for trying to expel her? Was she going to be okay? Slavery was a foreign concept to them, for the dwarves had no reason to enslave others. They did not know of the horrors of this practice and it scared them to think of what she went through. And then there was the other thing, the one that was so horrible she had stopped Thorin from saying it's name. The concept of rape was difficult for even the oldest dwarf to understand, for this too was unheard of for the race of Dwarves. They had always treated their women with respect and all boiled down to whether or not Annie could preform her duties as a Burglar. How could they trust someone who didn't even trust them?

Annie stood in her room, eyes still on the spot where the dwarf had stood. She knew what she should do, but she didn't want to do it. She wasn't brave enough to tell them, but she knew the company deserved an explanation from her. Whatever Tharanduil had told them must have been laced with his own bitterness towards her.

Finally, when she felt that she could sit still no longer, she stood up and drew every ounce of courage that was left in her. She had to tell them, she could no longer bare this feeling of loneliness. She took a deep breathe, and then opened her door.

Even though it was late, she could still hear whispered voices from below, in the living room. The hearth still burned bright, and the flames flickered shadows against the walls of the guest house. As she walked down the stairs, she saw 13 heads turn her way.

"Good evening." she whispered, but no one answered. She took another breathe, the sense of comfort that she had felt earlier with the company had vanished. They didnt say a word as she walked down the stairs and stood infront of them, took another breathe than said:

"I don't know what Tharanduil told you, but I beg of you. Let me try to explain it for myself. And if you still cast judgement upon me, and wish for me to stay here I will." She told them, trying to keep her voice from shaking. Thorin's eyes finally met hers, and he nodded slightly, giving her permission to tell her tale. She then stood up straight and began:

" I was born into a life of were six of us: Ann A, Ann B, Ann C, Ann D, Ann E, Ann F and Ann G." Annie started, but then faltered, her voice wavering with tears and sorrow. This was too hard, for telling it would make it be real. She hated her past more than anybody, and dwarves stony presence weren't helping her. She looked up at the grim faces, eyes darting to each one. Only Balin gave her a small smilie. She shook her head and felt her eyes well up with tears, but steadied herself and continued "I will spare you the details, for they are so painful I cannot even look back for even a second to recount them" she whispered, "Please just try to have faith in that I loved my baby girl very much. Too much to watch her grow up in such a world of cruelty, as my mother did to me."

"Why didn't you tell the elves? Why did you let them assume the worst? They would have helped you if they knew the truth." Dwalin asked her

"I couldn't."

"Why not?"

"I had a bit in my mouth."

"A bit of what?"

"Metal." she answered, eyes flashing up and staring at the company. "Everything was taken from me that day; my daughter, my voice, my heart. Nothing is mine, I dont have a home, nor a family. That is why I want to come to Erebor, your company gives me courage, you all are a solid, earnest, hard-working, loyal bunch, but you're also very fixated on getting back what's yours. My heart was stolen the day I gave my baby to the heavens. Something about the Lonely Mountain calls to me, maybe if I can help you take back your home, I will find a way to take back my heart?" she told them, eyes darting to each face.

Even though Thorin had turned away, he still listened. He knew she spoke the truth, for he had seen the scars on her back and the fear in her eyes but still he felt deceived. He felt that the hobbit had lied to him for false pity. A dwarf doesn't easily forgive or forget.

After hearing Annie's story from her own lips, the dwarves felt slightly ashamed of their harsh judgement. Even though what she did was terrible, no longer did they think she was a murderer, nor a threat to their company.

Balin approached her, and held out his hand, an offering of understanding. "We're truly sorry, lassie for whats happened. It seems that judgement has been passed irrationally." He told he, and she nodded feeling slightly more comfortable now that there was a common understanding.

Thorin then stepped forward, "You have shown great courage, coming forth to us and speaking about what has happened. I am sorry for doubting you." he told her and she nodded.

His eyes flashed, "If I ever gain sight of any of those men, I swear to all the gold in Erebor that they will never see another day." and Annie saw the rest of the company nod. She felt tears prick her eyes, but these were not tears of sadness, but of gratitude. For the first time in a long while, she finally felt she had a support system, and even though she was still weary of some of the dwarves (Kili had not looked her in the eye since he had stormed out of her room the night before) she felt comfortable enough to continue on.

"I hope you still wish for me to be your burglar?" she asked them, hoping for a good answer. Even though they had judged her, and then tried to expel her, Annie felt that she needed to finish this adventure, not for them but for herself.

Balin nodded, and then the rest of the company did so as well. "Yes." he said with a smile.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It isn't finished yet, more is to come do not worry!!

**Author's Note:**

> I decided to put the disclaimer down here, because it kinda gives away the entire story. Parts of it I have borrowed from Toni Morrison, a grand novelist and I truly hope that she does not mind. The majority is borrowed from Tolkien. His characters are indeed his own. The only thing that is mine is Annie.


End file.
